Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke

The first film which stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai together is directed by Raj Kanwar. The film is about the twist and turns in love because of certain unexpected circumstances and misunderstandings. It extends to prove that God has written the future marriage of a person already and one cannot change it. The story is of Karan, a captain in army who loves Nisha and is on the way to meet her and propose for marriage. But he rescues a girl named Sahiba from murderers. Will it change the destiny of Karan?

There was also a cameo appearance of Salman Khan as a truck driver who left Karan in Nisha's place. His role had probably no importance but it was done to just attract audience to the film.

The music by Jatin-Lalit and lyrics penned by Sameer is excellent. Most songs were sung by Babul Supriyo and Anuradha Paudwal. There were nature-environment songs, group classical dances, and the Rabba Song of desert which is very similar to a song in Andaaz (2003) which Raj Kanwar shot two years after. The film Kitne Door Kitne Paas (2002) is also having a story which is little similar to Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke (2000). The total duration of the film was approximately 2hours 37 minutes (if we exclude the interval) and it is a great movie to explore the Indian culture in wedding.

Karan (Abhishek Bachchan) is on leave from the Army, anxious to see his girlfriend, Nisha (Sonali Bendre). On the way home, he saves the life of Sahiba (Aishwarya Rai), and escorts her home where he is mistaken for her husband. Unable to clear up the misunderstanding, he leaves, but Sahiba has fallen in love with him.

The plot, while sometimes unbelievable, is still attention-holding. The supporting cast, including Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher, and Shakti Kapoor, were excellent. Neither Bachchan nor Rai, though, expressed much emotion during the film, and they had little chemistry together. (This is surprising, as they married seven years later.) The music was somewhat above average; the choreography was not exceptional, but was enthusiastically danced. This would have been an above average film, had Rai and Bachchan been more lively.

This is the first time that Abhishek and Aishwariya starred in a movie together and next to GURU this is their best movie so far. So the movie is ïnspired"by the Keanu Reeves film A WALK IN THE CLOUDS. so what. Nice to know is that Abhishek's ex-grilfriend Sonali Bendre also has a small role in the film. Special mention must go to the fact that this is so far the only movie and there never will be another in which you get to see Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwariya Rai AND Salman Khan together. Yes, you read it right. The title song of the movie which has approx 4 versions is quite nice on the ears. Anupam, Amrish, Shakti and all the other supporting actors are quite good. Abhishek made this movie in his flop period before he was successful but you can see that he is a chip if the old (Godly) block

I absolutely love this movie! Particularly, when compared to the abundance of contemporary films lacking in acting prowess and compelling narratives, this movie truly stood out. It not only managed to make complete sense, but also left a profound impact on me. Additionally, the exquisite beauty of its songs added an extra layer of enjoyment to the overall experience. The moment I began watching, I was immediately drawn into the world of this film. Unlike the countless movies that fall short in terms of acting and storytelling, this one exceeded all expectations. The performances were so genuine and powerful that I felt fully immersed in the characters' lives. The actors' talent shone through, making each scene feel authentic and captivating.

Wow...I sure was shocked by the incredibly low score of 3.8 for this film! While the film is far from perfect, it IS still very good and well worth seeing and I cannot understand the hatred viewers have for this film.

"Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke" is a very unusual film. It's very much like taking a traditional Indian love story (complete with song and dance numbers) and combining it with "While You Were Sleeping" as well as "Rambo"--I kid you not! It begins with Karan (Abhishek Bachchan)on some sort of mission for the Indian army. His exploits in this opening scene would make John Wayne look like a sissy!! He is THAT macho as he kills dozens of AK-47-armed killers with just his semi-automatic pistols. Heck, he even catches the Indian flag in the process! He is, in many ways, like an Indian Rambo! He then is given leave from the military and this Captain heads back to a girl he loves. However, on the way he is pulled into the life of a damsel in distress (Aishwarya Rai--who later became Aishwarya Rai Bachchan when she married Abhishek in 2007). She witnessed a murder and is about to be killed to keep his secret, but super-macho Karan comes to the rescue. Now you'd THINK that that would be it, but soon Karan comes to her rescue again. It seems that Sahiba is depressed and doesn't care if she lives or dies. Why? Because her family has disowned her for refusing to marry the man they picked for her. So, being an all-around swell guy, Karan agrees to accompany her home and pretend to be her boyfriend. The problem is that the family assumes he is her new husband!! And, like in "While You Were Sleeping", the little lie steamrolls into a huge and occasionally funny predicament. So what's next? Well, much of it is very predictable and formulaic--you KNOW by the end of the film that Karan and Sahiba must fall in love. But, how they get there is kind of crazy--and once again, very Rambo-like!

So is this odd film worth seeing? Absolutely. While the story IS very predictable in some ways, it also kept me guessing and was quite enjoyable as well. Why the strong dislike for it? I don't really know. Perhaps these folks who scored it low are a lot more familiar with Indian films than me--I've only seen about a hundred, as the films are still not that readily available here in the States (but it IS getting easier each year). Regardless, I liked it.

By the way, if you do see this one, don't be surprised if in some of the song and dance numbers that the folks suddenly appear in other countries (such as Switzerland and Scotland). I've seen this several times before, such as in Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's "I Have Found It" and it's apparently not all that uncommon for Bollywood pictures. Weird, huh?!